Jackson Lee Nesbitt

American , 1913
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2008

Jackson Lee Nesbitt was born in 1913 in McAlester, Oklahoma. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute where he studied with John DeMartelly and Thomas Hart Benton. In 1937, a commission from Sheffield Steel led to the eventual creation of more than twenty etchings based on various industrial processes. Almost all of his other works reflect his regionalist roots and the influence of his friend, Tom Benton. Nesbitt produced five of his most popular rural pieces for Associated American Artists during the period 1939 to 1946. From 1949 to 1951, Nesbitt taught etching at his alma mater and counted Reynold Weidenaar among his pupils.

From 1955 to 1988, Jackson Lee Nesbitt produced no prints. He had become discouraged by the disinterest in his realist style during the middle of the 20th century. It was only in the late 1980s, after selling the advertising business he had built, that he felt the freedom to once again return to his art. The Nesbitt theme celebrates the common man. From the animated crowd at a livestock auction to the dignified worshippers at a serene Sunday service, all represent the essence of humanity and the nobility of ordinary folk striving to get along as best they can.